Door latching mechanism



May 27, 1952 F A MELZER 2,598,582

DOOR LATCHING MECHANISM Filed Jan. lll 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet l Jig.- I.

y; n -JZ hummmm|||||||||l|| Bnnentor H15 Gttomeg May 27, 1952 Filed Jan. 1l, 1947 F. A. ME-Lz'ER DooR LATCHING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snventor Hls (Ittorneg May 27,' 1952 F. A. Mr-:LZER

DooR LATCHING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. ll, 1947 His Gttotneg May 27, 1952 F A. MELZER 2,598,582

DOOR LATCHING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 11, 1947 -4 sheets-sheet 4 :inventor Frede/727k lA. Me/ze/ En Hts Gttorneg Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR LATCHING MECHANISM Frederick A. Melzer, Gary, Ind.

Application January 11, 1947, Serial No. 721,631

Claims. (Cl. 212-4) This invention relates to latching mechanisms for self-sealing coke oven doors and the like.

Coke oven doors must be tightly sealed in order to assure erlicient operation of the ovens. The doors must be easily latched and unlatched preferably automatically since they are removed and replaced by a mechanical head on a peel or ram which withdraws the doors to permit emptying and charging the ovens. Mechanical operators which move the latches only a set amount require constant attention and adjustment to compensate for warpage of the doors and frames. Spring loaded latches may be sufliciently positive in action but they require heavy springs, the sudden release of which results in shock-s or jolting which loosens and cracks the brickwork.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a coke oven door latching mechanism which is simple in design and dependable in operation.

It is another object to provide a coke oven door latching mechanism which seals the door tightly without destructive shocks or jolts.

It is a further object to provide a coke oven door latching mechanism which is readily adjustable.

The foregoing and further objects will be apparent from the following specification when read in conjunction with the attached drawings where- 1n:

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the hydraulic shock absorber, partially broken away to show the interior thereof Figure 3 is an enlarged detail;

Figures 4, 5, and 6 are side elevations, partly in section, illustrating the sequence of movements of the latching mechanism; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional detail of the by-pass I I8 of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 2 indicates a, raising and lowering device for a coke oven door 4 mounted on a reciprocable carriage 6. The raising and lowering device 2 comprises a vertical frame 8 having a vertically disposed screw-threaded spindle` I6, journaled therein. The spindle passes through a xed sleeve nut I2 in a tubular housing I4 so that turning of the spindle I0 by operation of reversible motor I6 and gear reducer I8 raises and lowers the housing I4. Carried by the hous-v ing I4 are a pair of hook brackets 20 adapted to be entered into slots 22 in the door 4 and upon elevation of the housing to lift the door 4 and upon withdrawal of the carriage 6 to remove the door from the frame 24.

' two tension discs 60 and 62.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, a pair of latching bars 26 are disposed in a horizontal plane across the front of the door 4. The bars carry cams 28 intermediate their ends which are adapted to move the rod away from the door when rotated by the latching arm 30 extending outwardly from the cam 28. The ends of the bars 26 are adapted to be disposed in slotted brackets 32 mounted on the door frame. Thus when the arms 30 are moved outwardly away from the door, cams 28 engage cam plates 34 on the door and due to the ends of the arms being held in brackets 32 move the door inwardly against the frame to effect a tight seal.

Also mounted on the vertically reciprocable housing are upper and lower buier wheels 36. These are mounted on rods 40 which may move Vrearwardly against the resistance of compression springs 42. Rail plates 44 may be provided on the door which are adapted to be engaged by the buffer wheels 36. Disposed below the buffer wheels 36 and carried by the rods 40 are brackets 46 having forwardly opening U-shaped slots 48 adapted to receive the latch bars 26.

Disposed above the buffer wheels and likewise carried by the vertically recprocable frame 8 are lever arms 50 keyed to shafts 52.

The inner ends of the arms 50 are connected to the piston of a hydraulic shock absorber to be later described and the outer ends comprise generally U-shaped jaws 54. The jaws I54 have inner legs 56 and somewhat shorter outer legs 58.

Mounted on the outer ends ofthe shafts 52 are The outer tension discs 66 are keyed to shafts 52 but the inner discs 62 are rotatably mounted thereon. The discs have opposed shoulders 64 between which there are disposed compression springs 66. One of the shoulders is offset from the plane of the disc so as to oppose directly the other shoulder. Inner discs 62 have stop pins 68 adapted to be engaged by shoulders 'l0 on the outer discs. The inner discs have shoulders 'I2 which engage cams 'I4 on the buffer wheel housings when the carriage is moved towards the door. Thus when the shoulder 12 engages the cam 74, the spring 66 is compressed. This in turn transmits torque through disc 60 and shaft 52 and actuates the lever arm 50 to move the jaw 54 down and lift the inner end upwardly to lift the piston of the shock absorber. It may be noted that movement of the rotatably mounted disc 62 is limited in one direction by engagement of the pin 68 and shoulder I0 and in the other direction by full compression of the spring 66.

Upper and lower shock absorbing fluid-actu# ated pressure releasers designated generally. by the numeral 80, are pivotally mounted as at t2 on the vertically reciprocable framework 8. The shock absorbers comprise a housing 84 having a piston 86 in a chamber or cylinder 83. Disposed upwardly along one side of the chamber 88 and underneath thereof is an oil chamber or reservoir 9U. The.v reservoir .93 also extends at least part way upI theY other-side of: the cylinder4 providing a valve chamber 92. Oppositely disposed valves 94 and 96 connnect the two chambers and the cylinder.V Valve 94 seats interiorly of the cylinder chamber 88 so that lifting the cylinder opens it to permit oil to be drawn into the cylinder. VValve 94 seats on a combined seat and guide member 98 held in place by a retaining ring |69. Valve 96 seats on the outside of the cylinder and opens to permit oil to flow from the cylinder to the reservoir when the pressure of the spring |32 holding the valve closed is exceeded. The adjustment or pressure of the spring is controlled bythe nut |84 which is easily adjusted. .A lool: nut HDB abuts against the frame to keep nut m4 from turning after the desired adjustment is effected. The valves may be replaced ley-withdrawing nuts |84 and |08, the oil reservoir emptied through drain plug ||0 and filled through plug ||2. Y

Grooves` I |4 and ||6 are provided in the walls offcylinder .88 Vabove and below the piston when `in .its lowermost position. These grooves are connected-by a by-pass |IB. Thus when the piston has been lifted upwardly and the chamber therebelowlled with oil, the upper groove is covered -by thepiston so that lowering of the piston is controlled by the valve spring |02. However, as thepiston approaches its lowermostposition, the

. upper .-'groove ||4 vgradually becomes uncovered allowingan increasing amount lof oil to pass through vthe by-pass ||-8. Thus the pressure within the cylinder is gradually and completely relieved as the piston descends to its lowermost position. A duct |26*V 'connects the upper end of the-cylinder 8f3-and thereservoir 95 so that-any oil-.above the piston will be returned to the reservoirrwhen the piston is lifted. Aspring |22 is providedffor properly positioning armV 5l) and piston-.86 of the upper shock absorber.

lInV operation, assuming that the door is latched in position and it is desired to remove the same,

the carriagek 6 is moved' forwardly until the buffer wheels 3B contact the abutments'44 and the latch bars'26 are received in slots 48, as shown in Figure 4. It is noted inthisfposition, the jaws 54 arei held in the proper position respecting latching arms 30. With continued advance of the carriage, buier springs42 are compressed allowing jawsl 54 to move latching armsf3l forwardly and release cams 28 from cam plates 34. By this time, lifting hooks 20 have advanced through Y Ypressed inir Figure 5 with jaw 54 in its upper position, and in Figure 6 theshoulder 19 is engaging the stop pin G8 with the jaw moved to its lower position, the movement isactually one continuous combined movement rather than two seplll 4 arate movements. Motor l5 is now energized to rotate shaft It to lift the housing i4 upwardly to cause hooks 2t to engage the door 4 and lift it from its frame 2li. The door may now be withdrawn, for ramrning the coke, by withdrawing carriage EE. It is noted that the door 4 and the latch bar 3S are securely held by reason of the pressure of springs 42.0n the buieinwheels 3E which bear on the railplates 44.

After charging the oven, the carriage is moved The housing I4 is then lowered to free the hooks '20 and enter the latch bar 25 in hooks 32 where- Aby the door l is held on the frame.

Upon withdrawal of the carriage 6, the latch arms 3d' are pulled outwardly by, jaws 54 causing the 28 to engage cam plates 34 and thereby seal the door tightly. The extent of the engagement of the jaws 54 and latch arms 3Q is controlled by the shock absorbers .8%. As the carriage il is moved backwardly, the'jaw 5,8 is held in engagement with the arm 36. bythe pressure. under the, piston 35. Release ofthearm 3|) is adjustably controlled and occurs when the piston 8E hasltraveled a certain distance. The control is secured by adjusting the spring load onthe valve 96 with the nut |04. The valve 96, therefore, holdsthe oil in the cylinder until a predetermined pressure is reached when; i-t'opensV and allows the escape of oil. As the oilescapesthe pistony 85 moves downward. .In its` downward movement` the -piston 8S gradually uncovers the groove. I4 permitting oil to ow throughpthe bypass. i3 around the piston 85 to the opposite end of theY cylinder. lAs groove ||4 is uncovered,..the pressure is relieve-:l and the spring S2.. closes the-valvel. However, the oil flowing freely throughthe by-:pass allows rapid travel of the pistonand thus .quiclz release of the arm 35by the jaw 58 is secured.

Due to gravitythe piston 85 continues to travel downward and forcenoil through' the by-pass: S until Vit reaches' l'lheig-rooveV l5 which acts .as ja cushion toslow down and'stopthe .piston B without hammer. This` puts the jaw' 5S in Vstarting position.

l0n the oppositeorigripping stroke the -oil will flow: easily through the by-pass; and; through the valve-94 toA ll thespaceunder thepiston as it travels to the opposite end of the cylinder. There will be little back pressure of the piston t@ to resist the movementof the jaw 53, under pressure of the spring 6%, in gripping the arm 3B.

The spring H32 and valve -95 will relieve any shocks which might Voccur in iatching the door t to the frame 2.4.

While I have shown described one specific embodiment of my invention, it willbe understood thatthis embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that various other forms may be devised vwithin the scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. -A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever pivotally mounted on a shaft, a jaw on said lever adapted to engage said arm, a pair of opposed discs having opposed shoulders, a compression spring between Vsaid shoulders, one of said discsbeing operatively connected to said lever, and .means to rotate the other of said discs'as said Alifting means is advanced toward said doorI to 2. A device for operating a latching armr on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on meansfor lifting doors and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a jaw on said leverr adapted to engage said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs 'having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a compression spring between said shoulders, and means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby move the said keyed disc to cause the jaw on said lever to engage said arm,

3. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a jaw on said lever adapted to engage said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a compression spring between said shoulders, means on said discs to maintain said spring under compression and means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby move the said keyed disc to cause the jaw on said lever to engage said arm.

4. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device -being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a U-shaped jaw on said lever adapted to engage said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a compression spring between said shoulders, a shoulder on said keyed disc adapted to engage a pin on the other of said discs to maintain said spring under compression, and means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby partially rotate said keyed disc to cause the jaw on said lever to engage said arm.

5. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors having spring-biased buffer means engaging the door as the lifting means is moved toward the door and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a U- shaped jaw on said lever adapted to engage said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a compression spring between said shoulders, a shoulder on said keyed disc adapted to engage a pin on the other of said discs to maintain said spring under compression, and means on said buffer means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby partially rotate the said keyed disc to cause the jaw on said lever to engage said arm.

6. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever pivotally mounted on a shaft, a jaw at the outer end of said lever adapted to engage said arm, a fluid-actuated shock-absorbing pressure-responsive release, said release having a piston connected to the inner end of said arm,

a pair of opposed discs having opposed shoulders, F

a spring compressed between said shoulders, one of said discs being operatively connected to said lever, means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby move the said disc connected to said lever to cause the jaw on the end of said lever to engage said arm and lift the piston of the shock absorbing pressure-responsive release to release said jaw from said arm without shock after a predetermined pressure has been exerted on said arm when said lifting means is removed from said door.

7. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a jaw at the outer end of said lever adapted to engage said arm, a fluid-actuated shock-absorbing pressure-responsive release, said release having a piston connected to the inner end of said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs having opposed shouldersl mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a spring compressed between said shoulders, means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means'is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby move the said keyed disc to cause the jaw on the end of said lever to engage said arm and lift the piston of the shock absorbing pressure-responsive release to release said jaw from said arm without shock after a predetermined pressure has been exerted on said arm when said lifting means is removed from said door.

8. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a jaw at the outer end of said lever adapted to engage said arm, a fluid-actuated shock-absorbing pressure-responsive release, said release having a piston connected to the inner end of said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a spring compressed between said shoulders, means on said discs to maintain said spring under compression, means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby move the said keyed disc to cause the jaw on the end of said lever to engage said arm and lift the piston of the shock absorbing pressure-responsive release to release said jaw from said arm without shock after a predetermined pressure has been exerted on said arm when said lifting means is removed from said door.

9. A device for operating a latching arm on coke oven doors and the like, said device being mounted on means for lifting doors and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a U- shaped jaw'at the outer end of said lever adapted to engage said arm, a fluid-actuated shockabsorbing pressure-responsive release, said release having a piston connected to the inner end of said arm, a pair of opposed tension discs having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft, one of said discs being keyed to said shaft, a spring compressed between said shoulders, a shoulder on said keyed disc adapted to engage a pin on the other of said discs to maintain said spring under compression, means to rotate the other of said discs as said lifting means is advanced toward said door to compress said spring and thereby partially rotate said keyed disc to cause the jaw on the end of said lever to engage said arm and lift the piston of the shock absorbing pressureresponsive release to release said jaw from said arm without shock after a predetermined presamamos 7 surehas' beenv exerted orr said: arm when said liftingrmeans is removedfront said door.

.10. A'device'for operating a latchingV arm on coke .oven doorsA and .the like, saiddevice bei-ng mounted on means zfor lifting doors having spring-biased buffer means engaging 4ther door as .the liftingrmeans is moved toward the'door and comprising a lever keyed to a rotatable shaft, a'U-shapedjaw at the outer end ofV said lever adapted vto engage said arm, a Vfluid-actua-ted shock-absorbing pressure-responsive release, said release havinga `piston connected tothe inner end of said arm,- apair of opposed-tension dises having opposed shoulders mounted on said shaft;` one :of said discs being keyed to said-shaft, a f1 spring Y compressed between said shoulders, a shoulder onfsaidkeyed discfadapted to engage a pin on the other of said discs to maintain -said spring under compression, means on -said'bufer means to rotate the other of said discs as Vsa-id lifting means is advanced toward said door to 8 compress said spring and thereby v.partially rotate the. said keyed disc to cause the-jaw onthe end of said lever toengage said armvand lift the piston of the :shock-absorbing pressureresponsive release to release said jaw from. said arm Without shock afterl a predetermined pressure has been exerted on said arm whensaid lifting means is removed from said door.

' FREDERICK A. MELZER.

REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of reoord in :the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES -PATENTS Number Name Date 1,346,474 Thomas ,.v July 13, .1920 1,714,160 Crowell et al. May 21, 1929 1,797,516 Schooler May 24, 1931 2,036,594 McEwan Apr. 7, 1936 V2,335,867 Lavely Dec. V'7, 1943 

